what if creativity was your lover?

5 questions to ask about your creativity

Jan 29, 2024

🎧 I just dropped a new episode of my podcast Sheer Creativity! This episode features fellow Substack writer, artist, and graphic designer

Gabi

Zuniga, owner of a multi-disciplinary creative studio known as Studio Gab. We talk creative processes, Black joy, creating in overtly conservative areas, her upcoming debut art show, and more. Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other major platforms.

In a previous newsletter post, I wrote about entering a season of redefinition, and allowing creativity to be my partner instead of seeking a romantic relationship. I then spent the week thinking, what would my creativity be like personified? If you had the opportunity to see your creativity face-to-face, to court your creativity into matrimony or have a lifelong partnership like most creatives hope to do, what would they be like?

What are your creativity’s personality traits?

For me, my creativity is such a philosopher, unlike me, who struggled to comprehend the works of Descartes and Spinoza during my junior year of college. They love to sit with concepts, analyzing and figuring out new perspectives of everyday occurrences. Thinking is an adventure they love to experience.

They wouldn’t describe themselves as introverted. Oftentimes, they find that when they’re alone, they can think themselves into an existential frenzy. They want to connect with others, but sometimes my creativity can feel isolated. My creativity feels like they speak a different language sometimes, like some people don’t quite understand their passions, or maybe they just don’t know how to explain their excitement about a spoken word poem with nearly triple entredres or a novel with a thrilling plot.

But I think once my creativity jumps over the hurdle of feeling too different, they find that they’re drawn to unique people just like them. It’s like two Black students surrounded by a class of white faces. There’s a familiarity in their eyes, someone who knows how you feel before you express it. My creativity likes engaging with these familiar people, but they also cocoon themselves into their own thoughts and wallflower tendencies. You might catch them in deep conversations one day then deep internal thought the next.

To lighten the heavy load of ideas they carry, my creativity loves to unwind. They love a good comedic line, so much so that sometimes they laugh at quite inappropriate times. They like romantic gestures and funnel cakes at amusement parks. They love anything that helps make room for more thoughts to ponder.

What would their love language be?

My creativity runs to the safety of words of affirmation. They feel encouraged falling into the soft pillows of acceptance, lying peacefully in their purest state. They tend to open up more with me that way, engaging in pillow talk where they discuss the thoughts they’ve sat with recently. Second to words of affirmation is acts of service. My creativity feels seen when I prepare a space for them: the fresh scent of lavender (thanks to Bath and Body Works), a dedicated workspace of organized chaos (a podcast mic here, a stack of TBR books there), a cup of chai tea (loaded with sugar), and a fuzzy blanket to bring comfort.

Where would they travel?

My creativity is a fanatic for the bustle of the city, asking questions like how much money per year it takes to light the entire city. The rural area feels too simplistic to my creativity; they crave a sense of excitement, something new to learn and experience. My creativity isn’t afraid to seem out of place or too much like a tourist. After all, life is about exploration right? My creativity allows themselves to look foolish if need be, something I don’t do enough.

They have a plethora of stamps in their passport, but their favorite places to visit are places full of cultural experiences. My creativity engages in long-standing debates about Nigerian versus Ghanaian jollof and dances bachata with the experts in the Dominican Republic. They’re open to trying a new cuisine, learning a new language, and roaming a city that’s vastly different than their hometown.

What’s your creativity’s catchphrase?

Much to my chagrin, my creativity’s catchphrase is the ever so popular (and cliche) “slow and steady wins the race.” They’re not in a rush to produce. Overall, they’re laid-back, not high-strung or in a rush to change. For me, this presents many squabbles because my fallacy as a partner is my hyperfixation on evolution. I want my creativity to change alongside me, but it needs its own time. I cajole them to become this idyllic version of themselves that doesn’t exist (yet). I compare them to other people’s partners and ask why our relationship hasn’t developed in the same way. I ask myself if I’ve given my creativity the opportunity to grow, if I’m expecting more than I should. I long to be the kind of partner that allows my creativity to fly free like formerly caged birds embrace the sky, and hopefully when my creativity returns, they come back with more perspective and more ideas that I never thought about before.

What one word describes your creativity?

I call them wanderer. My creativity is always seeking, whether that be for understanding, for a feeling, or for a moment of clarity, and somehow, they’re able to find pieces of themselves. In words or in songs. In novel plots and character arcs. It’s ironic how in the midst of searching, they realize they’ve already been found.

What is your creativity personified? Leave a comment with your answers. I’d love to know!

What does Laraya like this week?

✨ Creator spotlight: Shout out to Ciera Ludwig, a subscriber to this newsletter who happens to be one of my favorite people! Ciera’s a first-time mother to her one-year-old son Aiden, and she just launched an Etsy shop featuring fun digital downloads and crewneck shirts for new mamas like herself. Take a look at MamaSafeSpace to support her new creative venture!

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